Zine 1:

Last year, the Village Bloggurls decided to take a different approach to their annual zine. Instead of picking a topic, they decided to contextualize all of the topics we touch on in program, and they came to their idea: Lotherton. The zine would be about their own community.

In this zine, you will see the finished product of several interviews, a trip to the Library, extensive online research and reflection pieces alongside images old and new of Lotherton. We hope that you enjoy this zine and learn something new about Lotherton.

Zine 2:

Last year, the CH Best Bloggurls decided to address a specific group of people who have power over their everyday lives: adults. In this zine, you will find stories, photos and instructions on how to best support young people who are experiencing difficulties or have questions. We hope you enjoy the zine and spark a conversation with your friends and family about the best ways to support each other.

It was born out of the Village Bloggurls program, specifically at the end of the first funding cycle. There was a possibility that the program would not continue, so we needed to think and act fast about how to continue doing community development and engagement work. That possibility sparked several brainstorming sessions and conversations over the next couple of years to figure out the legacy project we wanted to embed into our community. Libraries, reading and studying spaces were common themes for our workshops because we identified the isolation we feel existing on two levels – within the community as a whole and within our own homes since we don’t have anywhere to convene.

We spent a lot of time reimagining what our community could look like, and tested some things out. For example, we made made sidewalk chalk games for young people coming from school to play on. We also planned a games night for youth in our community, and they asked for another one which we’re planning to do this year. While the program was renewed for another cycle, it meant that we needed to spend more time doing community work that would have a lasting impact. We created jumbo games – jumbo checkers and jumbo checkers as a start. At our recent Youth Council meeting, we realized just how much potential there is to address the isolation and access issues that we’ve been facing for such a long time through this kind of engagement.

Enter the idea for tiny libraries. We applied to the Laidlaw Youth Direct Action Grant with addressing and solving issues of isolation and access in mind. That was in April. After a long two months of waiting, we received news that we won the grant!

Stay tuned for the tiny library movement to touch down in Lotherton this summer!

On Friday, June 1, The Village Bloggurls did a #GetOutTheVote event where they sidewalk chalked in their community and created banners and posters to raise awareness about the importance of voting in the upcoming Ontario Elections on June 7. Even though most of them aren’t able to vote, they know that their voice matters and it’s important that their fellow community members realize that too.

Join us for part 2 of our #GetOutTheVote event where we make sense of the elections post-elections!

Don’t forget to check our Instagram for the latest updates!

This year, the CH Best Bloggurls and The Village Bloggurls worked together on the 4th zine entitled, “Girlhood: Do We Have To Be Perfect?”. As the name suggests, this zine is all about what it means to be a girl in the 21st century – the challenges, the surprises, the fun, the boring and everything in between. We used magazine pictures, drawings and text to remix the ideas about the complexity of girlhood. Please share and enjoy!

Starting today, you can register for the Girls Media Summer Camp. Active Village Bloggurls get priority, and there are only 15 spots available. All information is on the website for you to download and print. Make sure to register before all the spots are gone!